Murder at the Whitlock Grand
by Sh.C
Summary: All Human. Bella, her family and unfortunately her bosses go to the Whitlock Grand under her Uncle's request but someone appears to have been murdered. Much better Summary inside. As always, some drama, mystery and of course, a little romance :
1. What!

Murder at the Whitlock Grand

by Sh.C

**Summary: **Bella works at an architecture firm, and is slightly annoyed that her job isn't as exciting as she thought it would be, but when her Uncle hands her the contract to her dream job she's ecstatic. But when her bosses find out, the intimidating Emmett Cullen and the annoyingly condescending and work-obsessed Edward Cullen want to be in on it too, and try to steal it away. In a strange turn of events, Bella's Uncle decides that everyone must get together and go spend one week at the old hotel, having it run like it did when it first opened, but soon weird things start happening. Uncle Will disappears and the events surrounding his disappearance are highly suspicious and a very frightening.

Everyone is a suspect, everyone had a motive and everyone is afraid they'll be next.

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**I am making no money off of this and the characters don't belong to me. Only the plot is mine.**

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"I'm so sorry I'm late!" My sister said as she burst through the door of the apartment in a flurry, throwing down her black Armani briefcase, kicking off her shoes and flinging her keys on the small table by the front door.

I rolled my eyes, "Yea, yea, just get in here already, I want to hear Jasper's news." I curled my feet up on the squashy red armchair in our living room and waited for Rosalie to sit down. Jasper, our cousin, reclined on the couch fiddling with the remote control to the TV. We had agreed to meet at mine and Rose's apartment an hour ago so he could tell us some really big news. Rosalie had been, as usual, working late.

"Give me two minutes," Rose ran to her room, probably to change out of her work clothes before she joined us comfortably in the living room. "So what's this about Jasper?" She yelled from her room.

We were used to Jasper's frequent visits; he practically lived here even though his own apartment was only minutes away. The three of us had been very close as children and it continued into adulthood. Rose and I were dumped at Jasper's house every summer and during winter breaks when we were children, which was about three hours away from where we grew up. Our parents, having been much too young when they began having children, didn't seem to know what to do with us, never having gotten the hang of the whole parenting thing. We didn't really mind though, since we would spend every waking minute playing in the old unused hotel Jasper's family owned.

"I'm not about to shout it across the apartment, Rose. Hurry up and get in here." He replied loudly enough so she could hear.

I guess this is the part where I'm supposed to explain what the Whitlock Grand Hotel is. Well, first of all, let me start by saying that our dear cousin Jasper is rich. _Filthy_ rich. His family owns a string of hotels scattered across the planet. There is a Whitlock Hotel or a Whitlock Luxury Resort in every state and at least two in most other countries. The Whitlock Grand Hotel was the first one ever in existence, built back in 1904. It sits on the most beautiful mountain, in front of the many ski slopes also owned by the family. It greatly resembles a miniature Russian Palace; majestic and enchanting. Every detail was striking from the great marble hallways to the views of the mountain it sat on and the town it overlooked were grand. In fact, I don't think I can adequately describe how amazing it is, so I'll just say this: it's magical. Marvelously, mysteriously and unremarkably magical.

Needless to say, it is my favorite place in the world.

Our parents would drop us off at Jasper's house near the hotel on school breaks, ever since I can remember, but by then it had been closed, mostly because it only had about twenty guest suites, which soon became too small an amount, no matter how lavish, luxurious and beautiful each suite was.

Jasper smirked at Rose as she made her way to the couch, "Make any guys cry today?"

I snorted. That Rosalie is a ball buster wasn't a secret. At merely 26 years of age she had managed to rise to a senior level position at a major German automobile company, heading up their luxury car design department here in Seattle. The mixture of tenacity, drive, talent got her the position … and of course, the fact that she's drop dead gorgeous and can make anyone surrender to her will didn't hurt her either. She was promoted to the position 6 months ago, right around the time I'd finished graduate school.

She scrunched her nose at him in an insincere attempt at annoyance, "No, it was a slow day. And I don't see why you guys keep bringing that up. It was _months_ ago and I apologized to him.

"No, you didn't," I reminded her.

Rose frowned slightly, "Oh, that's right. Oh well," she shrugged, "so what's the big news, Jazz?"

Jasper turned off the TV and turned to face us. "The Whitlock grand is going under construction. My dad has finally set about reopening it."

My mouth went a little dry… it was a dream come true. _This is good. Uncle Will is reopening the Whitlock Grand. You've been bugging him about it long enough. This is good. _I repeated the phrases in my head to try and dispel the disappointment making its way through my veins, slowly spreading through me as the news set in. "Well, good." I said after clearing my throat. Doing my best to mask the chagrin with a blank face, I spoke again, "Is Uncle Will… Are they … who's going to…?"

Rosalie took over when I couldn't get the words out and she took over. "Are they starting from scratch? Tearing it down and putting up a new one?" It was clear that the thought disturbed her.

They couldn't tear it down. It was our _home_. I knew the ins and outs of that place like the back of my hand; the parlors, the grandeur… they can't. The thought of never walking those halls, revisiting the many secrets and mysteries we uncovered as children, was unbearable. I can't even believe Jasper is being so calm about this; he would _never_ be cool about just building a new one. I looked to his face, searching for any hidden turmoil, but I couldn't comprehend his expression. It reminded me of the pleasant serenity of a surgeon when he tells a patient that their tumor has been completely removed and they will live a long happy life. It made no sense at all.

"They aren't tearing it down." He said evenly.

"Oh." Rosalie said. She shot me a worried glance she hoped I wouldn't catch before continuing, "That's good then, right? They'll just add a few rooms or something?"

Jasper nodded, "I think so but, honestly, I don't know what the architect is planning. Apparently this one's had plans for redoing the place for a while. They've visited it enough times in the last few years."

My heart deflated a little. I guess I should also mention that the reason I had become an architect was because of this place… or at least where I got the motivation from. I mean, it is _gorgeous_ and it had completely inspired me. I'd never wanted to do anything else. But let's face it; I just started my job as an architect just a few months ago. And, yes, it was a well respected firm but Uncle Will is a reasonable man and he would want someone more experienced in charge of this.

I know I should be happy, the place was finally going to be used to its full potential. I mean, sure, when we were little we liked having the place to ourselves, but I had always imagined what it would be like when it was up and running again. But… _I _wanted this job… to have some stranger come in and try to mess with our place seemed… harsh. "So, Uncle Will's had some architect scouting the place for years now?" I asked, feeling a little betrayed by my Uncle.

"Not really," Jasper said, "She's been doing it on her own, for years now."

"What?! She?" Rosalie asked, now fully annoyed. "So some strange chick's been going around snooping in the Whitlock Grand for years and Uncle Will just hands over a renovation contract? I'm not buying it. Who is this bitch?"

Jasper's eyes crinkled slightly and I could tell he was trying not to laugh. "I don't think she's a bitch. Actually, she's really good. And she's not strange. OK, she can be a little weird sometimes but—,"

"You've _met_ her?!"

"Of course I have." He said simply.

"So she's charmed you too then? What'd she do, buy you some Krispy Kremes and tell you you're a great skier? That's it, isn't it? It's about time you came to terms with the fact that you suck. I swear, _every time_ some bimbo flashes her cleavage at you and mentions your damn skis, you turn into such a _moron!_"

"Hey!" exclaimed Jasper.

Rosalie was turning red, but before she could lash out at Jasper any further, I intervened. "Hold on, this doesn't make sense. What aren't you telling us?"

Jasper was still frowning at Rosalie, "_I_ suck at skiing? May I remind you that I won the last three races when we were home?" By home, he meant the slopes behind the Whitlock Grand.

"Whatever. I'd really like to know what's going on," added Rose. "Tell us the whole story. Who is this person and how do you know her?"

He grinned, seemingly unable of holding it back any longer, "She's my cousin."

Rosalie and I stared at him. As my head wrapped itself around the information and pieced the puzzle together, I felt the tips of my fingers go a little numb. My mouth opened, but no sound came out.

I felt my eyes go wide and my skin get all prickly. In the silence that followed his statement, I looked to Rosalie to see if she had heard the same thing I did. She was looking at me, a smile slowly spreading across her face as she watched my reaction. "Wait… what?!"

Jasper took a deep breath, "Well …" _Oh God._ But instead of saying _'Just kidding' _or _'Gotcha'_, his eyes turned to me, "Dad wants Bella to be in charge of the project."

"What… I… what?"

"Well, was I lying before? You _have_ been planning it out forever, right, Bells? And you have visited it hundreds of times," he repeated, smiling. Both he and Rosalie were staring at me. Rosalie, who was so taken by the news that she forgot to be angry at Jasper for putting us through grief before delivering the news, was beaming.

"Shut up!"

"OK, then." He chuckled.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"_Jas_per..."

"_Be_lla…" he mocked.

I shrieked, immediately jumping out of my chair, "Are you kidding?!!" I cried out. "Please tell me this isn't a joke, please don't let this be a joke…" the prayers escaped me disguised as excited whispers.

Jasper laughed out loud, "No joke. He's serious."

"Are you sure? Are you sure this isn't one of his tricks?" Our Uncle is the kindest and most brilliant man you'll ever meet and we all love him dearly… but he's nut! He has a brilliant business mind and is the most generous soul on the planet but the man loves having a good laugh, no matter whose butt gets super glued to the toilet seat.

"No scheme, he's serious. He's tired of the land only being used for skiing and snowboarding during the winter, he says it's a waste of a great building."

"I've been telling him that for years." I responded, still stunned as my mind did a walkthrough of the hotel. I hadn't been inside of it in almost three years but every detail was still crystal clear, as though it was only yesterday. It was elaborately decorated and still beautifully preserved since the family has a caretaker tending to it. In my head I envisioned every nook and cranny, the old 50's style lounge, the elegant ballroom; by far my favorite room in the place… its huge, graceful arched windows gave the most spectacular view of the small quaint town just settled at the bottom of the mountain it was on. About 15 years back, it was closed because they wanted to add more guest rooms. The family had meant to reopen it as soon as renovations had been done, except that with business booming so much everywhere else and the fact that no one could agree on how to go about it, not wanting to take away from the splendor of the existing design and the history of the building, they simply forgot about it.

Until now.

I yelped and jumped up and down around the room. "Oh my… YES!" I've had dreams about doing this, and ever since I started school, I've known exactly how I would go about doing it. I have a mental game plan in my head.

"Bella!" Rose shouted, pulling me down onto the couch next to her and throwing her arms around me, "Congratulations!"

I looked over at Jasper, still riddled with disbelief. "Seriously, though. You better be completely serious."

He crossed his heart, "I solemnly swear that I am not kidding."

"Is he giving me a time frame? How does he want it done? Does he have specific ideas, or is he letting me run wild?" I said all in one breath. "How does he…. Or… Oh my God I can't breathe!" Rose brought me a brown paper bag out of the kitchen. "Thanks." I said, taking the bag and breathing into it.

"This is amazing; you should call Uncle Will and thank him."

"Good idea!" I ran over to get the phone.

I heard Jasper mumble something to Rose, "She hasn't been this excited since that time we told her the North Pole was at the top of the diamond slopes." Rosalie snorted.

"Hello?" Came a jolly male voice.

"Uncle Will?! It's Bella."

I could practically _hear_ him grinning, "Hello darling, what's going on?"

"Jasper just told us the news!" I said happily, "Are you serious?! Do you really want me to do it?"

"Of course! Who else would I trust with it?" I couldn't hold back an enthusiastic squeal, upon hearing it, Uncle Will laughed. "I guess that means you'll do it?"

"YES!" I shouted into the phone, "Oh, sorry, didn't mean to yell."

He laughed again, "You'll have to speak up, dear," he yelled into the phone, "I've gone temporarily deaf in this ear."

I laughed, "Sorry about that. And thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you so much!"

An exasperated sigh came from the other end of the line. "Honestly, sometimes I think that's those are the only words you and your sister know. '_Uncle Will, thank you for the renovation contract',_ or '_Uncle Will, you shouldn't have bought us the apartment, thank you.'_" He mocked, imitating mine and Rosalie's voices about three octaves higher than normal, making me laugh out loud, "When will you both finally learn to stop with the persistent gratitude?"

"Um, probably around the same time _you_ learn to stop spoiling us." I reprimanded him jokingly.

"Well, I guess never then." He said with a laugh. "So how soon can you get on the project?"

"Immediately! How long are you giving me?"

"As long as it takes," he said seriously, "I want it done right, no rushing."

"I couldn't agree more." I said, beaming. At that moment Rosalie came up behind me, asking for the phone, "Uncle Will, Rose wants to say hi. I'll call you tomorrow about the details. Love you." I said before handing the phone to Rose.

I couldn't believe it. _I_ was going to be in charge of the redoing the Whitlock Grand.

Hello?! _Me!_

Man, I really hope I don't screw this up.

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**For some reason my stories always start out so cheesy… oh well, I've tried but I can't change it now. I hope you all like this story too :)  
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	2. Damn

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We continued to celebrate the incredible news over dinner, which I cooked in a haze. Usually I'm a pretty good cook, but I was on such a high that I almost set the stove on fire... That was when Rosalie took the slightly burnt wooden spoon out of my hands and shooed me out of the kitchen while Jasper refilled my wine glass. We sat around reminiscing about our childhood time spent at the old place and our favorite parts and memories. They even put in their ideas for what they'd like to see in there and what must remain intact. The ideas got sillier as the night went on and the wine got to our heads. For instance; Jasper decided that the conservatory should have a raised platform for the large telescope already in there, but the rest of the floor should be like the floor of those moon bounce things at kids parties and also that there should be a room specifically for laser tag. And Rosalie thinks that there should be a machine to carry you from the lounge to the dining room and also a fireman's pole from the one of the second floor suites into the garage, though she pointed out that this particular suite should be just for her. It was a really great evening.

Once Jasper left later on that night, I changed into my pajamas and snuggled into my bed with a book. But I wasn't there for long before Rosalie was standing in my doorway. "I'm bored." She said with a pout.

"Read a book."

"I'm not _you_." She rolled her eyes, "I need to have actual fun."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but I've been telling you that for months." I said coolly, "Maybe if you didn't work a zillion hours a week then you would have the energy to go out at night."

She sighed and grumbled, crossing her arms across her chest. "Whatever I _have_ energy and I happen to _love_ my job."

I really doubted the validity of that statement these days. "What do you want to do?"

She shrugged, rubbing her arms and shivering, "its cold in here."

I chuckled, "It's the middle of January and you're in a tank top and pajama pants." I shook my head at her, but scooted over on my bed and made room for her, "Come on." I patted the extra pillow.

She grinned, hurried to her room, quickly returning with a magazine, and snuggled up in my bed. We sat there reading for a while before I finally spoke. "Rose?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't want to screw this up." I admitted.

Rosalie put her magazine aside and looked at me, "Bella Swan." She said sternly, "You've been planning this out forever. You'll do great. Have some confidence!"

"It's just that I haven't done anything this big at work yet. You've seen the stuff I work on, group projects of corporate office buildings. This is a big deal."

"But here's your big chance, you should be excited!"

"I know, I am and I'm grateful. You know, I was beginning to think I would never be passionate about what I did anymore. I figure I'm already stuck designing offices for the rest of my life."

She shook her head, "Don't think like that. You're too young. Don't let yourself get stuck doing something you don't want to do just because it's remotely related to the field you want."

I gave her a look, "OK, teapot, you know you're calling the kettle black, right?"

Rose looked back at her magazine, "I love my job." She repeated.

"Correction, you _loved_ your job before you got promoted. Do you still?"

"Yes I do." She insisted, but the confident tone didn't reach her eyes. "I love my job. Everyone loves being promoted. Sure, it's not as _creative_ as I'd like it to be, but it'll get better. Besides, I don't want what happens to me to happen to you. _You_ can do anything."

It was what she'd always done, protecting me from her fate. Rosalie had taken on the role of older sister, parent and protector at an early age, since our parents, too young to know how to raise two little girls, were certainly not meant for the job. They had been thrilled when Rosalie was born; she was the most beautiful little girl anyone had ever seen. Blonde, blue eyed and stunning, as she had been all her life. Her looks attracted a lot of attention and our parents had used that to their advantage, something she always resented, feeling that they never truly allowed her to be a kid. When I was born, Rosalie did everything in her power to keep that from happening to me, not that she needed to, I wasn't the beauty Rosalie was, not by a long shot. In fact, no one would ever guess we were sisters by looking at us. She was a tall, leggy stunning blonde, and fierce while I … well, I wasn't tall, I didn't even have the hope of blue eyes and my hair was long, thick, and brown. Since our mother and father had no clue how to be parents and instead took on the role of friends who provided for us most of the time, we pretty much raised ourselves, with a lot of help from Uncle Will.

I finished grad school about six months ago and am currently working for a very prestigious architecture firm, which you think would have me thrilled. But the truth is I'm in _way_ over my head. When I'd started out, I thought everything would be different. I loved studying great works of architecture in school and I'd done such interesting internships abroad where I got to witness great works, and I thought I'd be designing such things. Boy was I ever wrong. I'm a junior architect and I do nothing of the sort. I just finished working on a team project for a commercial office building and the most creative thing I got to do was get funky with some elaborate bathrooms.

Rosalie keeps telling me that it'll get better. She insists that once I prove myself and my standing in the firm, I'll be trusted with bigger projects in no time. I suppose I should trust her reasoning, after all, she has an amazing career. She had just received her third promotion within this one company. The first two had sent her to Germany for close to a year (I had to force her not to worry about me and do what was best for her. You have _no_ idea how hard it is to talk Rosalie into something she doesn't want to do) and this third one brought her back to Seattle. And she's only 26! Freaking incredible, right?

"You know," I looked at her right in the eyes, "_You_ can do anything, too." These days, though, I really worry about her. She _says_ she's happy, but she spends more than the necessary hours at the office, her life has become about work.

She rolled her eyes, "I _am_ doing what I want. Stop worrying so much, you'll get wrinkles."

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The next night it was my turn to work late. I took Rose's advice to heart; I could get a promotion at any time, all I had to do was show that I deserved one. I should be working on my dream projects, and I would, just as soon as they saw how much talent I had.

Angela, the girl who works in the office space next to mine, stopped at my desk with her coat and bag in hand, "Bella, its 7 already." You see, that's another thing: you'd think after working my butt off through graduate school I'd at least have my own office. But no, I share a large workspace with two other people. In any other firm, I'd probably have started off as a senior architect with my experience. But no, I _had_ to go for the fancy firm.

Stupid me.

I looked up from my drafting table, "I know." I smile at her, "You go ahead, I just have a few things I need to finish up here."

She nods, "Alright, goodnight Bella. And goodnight Mr. Cullen," she called to someone over my shoulder.

My limbs freeze. I turn around and sure enough, Edward Cullen himself is standing a few feet behind me, rifling through some papers in his hand.

_Damn_, I thought to myself.

OK, now before you jump to any conclusions, it's not that I don't _like_ Edward Cullen, it's just that he makes me a little uneasy. He's the senior architect in charge of almost all the projects I've been assigned to, so I usually have to report to him, but those are the only interactions we've ever had. And he seems to be obsessed with work. More than Rosalie, even. He's constantly juggling a few projects at once and insists on overseeing and redoing almost everything anyone has ever done, as though he can't trust anyone but himself to get things done right.

I think that's one of the main reasons I _might_ resent him a _tiny_ bit. Not to sound conceited, but I am _very_ good at what I do, so it's kind of an insult when he goes and changes something that I've worked hard on. And also, there's the way everyone acts around him. I mean, I know his brother is one of the firm's partners and I _guess_ he is really young for having such a high position and he is incredibly handsome and all, but people walk on eggshells around him, falling over themselves to please him. Oh, did I say people? I meant women. _Women_ go out of their way to please him; anything to get his attention which he doesn't give easily. Men, on the other hand, are either intimidated by him or they want to be him. Or both. Yea, now that I think of it, it's usually both.

"Goodnight, Angela." His smooth voice replied.

Just when I thought I'd have the office to myself to work. _Well at least the secretaries are gone_. Oh man, the flighty secretaries here flutter around his office at least 50 times a day, clickety-clacking on their heels as they walk by the glass walls with an obvious swing in their step, trying to draw his attention. It's distracting and annoying when you're trying to get work done.

_Oh well,_ I thought to myself, _he probably won't bother me. He probably doesn't even remember my name._ This last thought might not be true, but he probably can't put a name with a face. He barely ever glances up from his work long enough to look at someone when he's talking to them. Didn't I tell you? He's obsessed._ He probably doesn't even realize I'm here, so I can just carry on—_

"Isabella?"

_Damn!_

"Yes, Mr. Cullen?" I asked politely.

He barely glanced up from his papers, "Are you still working on the Johnston high-rise?"

I shook my head, "No. I put those drawings on your desk earlier. There are also a few extra perspectives and an alternate plan that I thought would work better for the bottom floor, but whether or not you use it is your call." _Ha!_

He looked up, taken aback for a split second. "Alright then." He said curtly then turned around and headed back to his office.

_There goes man in serious need of a vacation._

Now, I _could_ be working on another project for the firm, but instead I decided to take advantage of the almost empty office to start some preliminary drawings for the Whitlock Grand. I couldn't sleep last night, since I kept waking up every couple of minutes with a new idea and therefore went to my desk in my living room to jot them down. After having to get up three times, I decided to just keep the notepad and pen next to me on the bed. _Very_ bad idea. It took me half an hour to scrub the blue ink off my face this morning and I can't even read whatever I scribbled onto the notepad. One scribble _looks_ like it says "turkey in pool lambada room," but obviously that makes no sense.

Half an hour later I was still analyzing the original plans, trying to decide the best way to go about this, when I was interrupted again.

"Isabella?" Edward Cullen's voice came from behind me. I turned around to see him coming towards me with my drawings in his hands.

In my mind, I groaned. Out loud I said, "Yes, Mr. Cullen?" as politely as I could.

"I'm glad you're still here, I want to talk to you about the ground floor here." He set the drawings down on the space next to my drafting table, next to the stuff I was working on, standing next to me. I couldn't help but notice how close he was. _What cologne is that?_ I found myself wondering. "…and the design you have for the reception area is interesting, I really like the proposal, but I have a few concerns."

_Of course. _I nodded along, trying to force myself to not be annoyed by the fact that he would probably be changing what I'd worked on yet again, although he was asking about it this time… that's a first. "Concerns?"

He nodded curtly, "Yes." For the next fifteen minutes we went over the drawing, with me defending my choices and him questioning them. Questions, strong opinions, frowns, more questions, a furrowed brow here and there and a few more frowns… Finally, he stopped quizzing me and stared at the drawing. "Interesting."

"The original version was good too," I forced a polite smile, "I just wanted to give another option, especially since the original version blocked the light entering from the south, which may not seem like much, but it can make a difference at certain times, and also it gave very limited space for the lobby, which I don't think the client would appreciate."_ Try to argue with that, Cullen!_ "If you don't like it, you don't have to use it."

A tiny muscle moved in his jaw at my criticism. But when he spoke his voice was smooth, almost amused even. "No, I think actually I like this better. I would only change a few minor details, myself."

_Of course you would._ "Whatever you think is best." I turned back to my other work, scribbling some notes in a notebook.

I expected him to quietly make his exit and leave me alone, and was therefore surprised to here his voice from so close to me when spoke again. "Which project are you working on?"

I sat up and noticed him looking at the old building plans over my shoulder. "Oh, it's not work stuff." I bit my lip, "Is that going to be a problem?"

He furrowed his brow slightly, looking at me and away from the old plans for a second, "Should it be?"

"Oh, um, no, I guess not." I could feel the beginnings of a crimson blush spreading on my face.

He gave me a very amused smile, and it was so breathtaking I had to remind myself how to breathe. Alright, so maybe I _do_ understand why there are always women clacking about. "I guess you're referring to the fact that you're using office materials for your own means?" Guiltily, I blushed an even deeper shade of red, causing him to laugh. "Don't worry, I won't tell the boss." he said with a grin. "What is that? From a first glance it looks ancient. I haven't seen a layout like that in a while."

"It's a hotel owned by my family. It's been closed for a while and my uncle finally wants to reopen it. I've been given the contract and am taking point on the renovation." I smiled, "Thanks for letting me use the space."

"Its fine, I'll be here a while longer anyway. What's the hotel? Have I heard of it?"

"Probably." I said, "It's the Whitlock Grand. It's up in—,"

"I know where it is," His eyes widened a bit and were now full of excitement. "That's an incredible space. My family and I have gone skiing there a few times and I kept trying to get in to see the building, like a private tour or something, but my requests were always denied. Your family owns it?"

I nodded, "My uncle does, yes."

"Amazing."

I smiled politely, "Yeah."

"Have you spent much time inside?"

"Yep. We grew up playing in there, mostly after it was closed, though."

"Fascinating." He did seem enchantingly captivated by the information. "What's it like on the inside? Did you get to see it when it was running?"

"My sister remembers it when it was open but I was too young. You're right, though, it's incredible. Even more so on the inside, if you can believe it. The great thing is that it's _exactly_ as it was when it closed. Everything is still functioning; the structure still has its integrity; if it weren't for the dust that's settled in certain places, you'd think it was just built." I don't know why I was volunteering all this information, but it was nice to talk to someone about it in detail. Uncle Will, Jasper and Rosalie all appreciate and love the building as much as I do but we never talk about it from an architectural standpoint. "I'm sure you've seen photographs of the inside, so you can imagine. The best part is by far the ballroom, though."

My boss had pulled up a chair belonging to one of my colleagues and was now seated on it backwards, with his legs on either side, his arms folded over the backrest and his chin resting on his arms, listening intently to what I was saying. "Isn't that where some princess was married or something?"

"Well, Grace Kelly held some ball there for one thing or another at one point, but she wasn't actually married there. There is also a legend about two young grand duchess sisters, maybe they were princesses, I don't remember, but the legend says they were fighting and killing each other in there over… something, I forgot. It's a story the cook who used to work there told us, but I think she made it up to keep us entertained. It was pretty extravagant looking though, according to some old pictures I saw. The room itself is… well, it's amazing. I can't describe it; you'd have to see it to believe it. Just think of what a ballroom might look like in the Romanov Palace, then you'll have an idea." I sighed, "I'm sad to have to change any of it."

Edward Cullen stared at me, almost through me, lost in concentration. "What needs to be changed in it? If it's in as good a condition as you say, why did they close it in the first place?"

"Well, this was the first of the Whitlock Hotels. The problem was that despite how big it is, it only has about twenty guest rooms or so, which weren't enough when business started booming. Now my job is to add more rooms and make it a bit more modern."

He smiled, "Sounds like a fun challenge."

I smiled back. "It is, and I'm really excited about it. The only thing is that I don't really want to change it too much." I shook my head, "I don't think I can explain it the right way, but this place is… special. As silly as it sounds, it's almost a part of the family and no one wants it lose its old world quality. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, I understand." His smile changed, still brilliant and breathtaking but somehow reminding me of a wolf trying to lure his prey into his den, "why not bring the project to the firm? We could—,"

But I could feel my own smile fall off my face. "Oh, um, thanks for the offering, Mr. Cullen, but that's OK." I knew I shouldn't have said anything. There was no way I was letting the firm anywhere near it. Why should I? So I could have Edward Cullen changing everything I did? So I could have him take it away from me? Nope.

He looked at me, confused. "Why not? I know we don't normally work on anything like this…" He looked away briefly, his voice thick with the implication that he regretted that fact. "But, I can assure you that I would make this a priority. It'll be in really good hands. To be honest, this is the kind of thing I've been wanted to get my hands on for ages now—,"

_Crap._ "Um, sorry," I said, cutting him off, "Thank you for the offer, but I don't think so. This project has sentimental value, so you could understand why I wouldn't anyone else to _'get their hands on it'_ and severely change what my family has built. I grew up there. It's going to remain a family project. And to be perfectly honest," The non-confrontational part of me braced itself for the accusation I was about to make, "I can't stand by and watch someone else second guess and alter every one of my ideas." There was an edge to my voice I was sure he noticed.

"If you're worried about your position, we could work something out—,"

"No." I stood up out of my desk and began putting away the drawing so I could take it home. "Look, I'm sorry I brought it here, I'll keep my personal things at home from now on."

With a sigh and a look of frustration, he gave up "Fine. Have a nice night, Isabella." And he left.

_Good going, Bella._ I thought,_ way to suck up to the boss._

--

* * *

**So here you have your first impression. Thoughts so far?**


	3. You're Who?

**Many apologies about the wait, I didn't want to publish something I'd have to change later and I didn't have the crucial parts of the story right yet. Still don't, but I have a better idea.**

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**

Rosalie was already home when I walked into our apartment. "Hey, I have ziti in the oven." She called as I made my way past the kitchen.

I muttered, "Fine," before depositing my things on the desk in the living room and going to my room. I collapsed onto my bed and closed my eyes, tired from a long day at work. It wasn't long before Rose's voice carried through the apartment, announcing that dinner was ready.

"Well this is a change of pace." I said as we settled on bar stools in the kitchen. "Usually _you're_ the one getting home late. And you never cook."

"I cook." Rose said defensively as she sipped some wine.

"You don't cook."

"I mean to."

"Hey, I'm not complaining. This is good." I took another bite.

Rose shrugged. "I think you may have been right about me. Work has become my life."

"Gee, nothing gets past you," I said with an eye roll. "What tipped you off?"

She speared more ziti onto her fork and popped it into her mouth. "Oh just… you know… little things," she said with a shrug.

"Uh huh. Such as?"

She swallowed. "You know, little things … like today I was writing a letter and I made a spelling mistake and I got really pissed when the spell check didn't automatically correct it… until I realized I was _hand writing_ the damn thing."

I snorted into my wine and immediately started coughing. It took only a couple seconds until the coughing turned into laughing. "Ha! Oh my gosh, that great!" I said, wiping tears from my eyes.

Rosalie was laughing too. "I know. And that's not all. Last night I was watching Conan and I swear, _I_ _swear_, I saw the OS X clock on the corner of the screen." I laughed harder. "I'm not even kidding," she continued. "Also, I keep having these dreams that annoy the crap out of me, like I'll have a million things to do everyday but in my dream, I'm working hard, almost finishing everything and the second I finish, I'm about to sit back and relax and _that's_ when I wake up. Of course, I don't realize it's a dream at first so I get all happy thinking I can take it easy, until I realize… oh wait, yes I freaking do have a crapload of stuff to get done!"

"Is that why you're such a bitch in the morning?" She cut her eyes to me in an heart-quickening glare. "Alright, jeez, forget I asked."

"_So_," she said emphatically, eradicating my previous statement, "it got me thinking. I started to take a look around my office. It turns out I have about ten different outfits and fourteen pairs of shoes in the closet, plus there are two large drawers in my credenza filled with toiletries and a curling iron. A _curling iron_, Bells."

"So you have a mini dressing room in your office?"

"Pretty much. That along with the dreams and the other stuff freaked me out enough to get me to come home early."

I smiled at her. "I'm glad. You're never home for Grey's Anatomy usually. It's nice not to have to TiVo it for once."

She gave me a small smile, "I'm glad too. I'm getting cross-eyed from staring at reports all day. Anyway, enough about me. How was work?" It was my turn to shrug. "Bad day?"

I told her about my talk with Edward Cullen. "… and now I'm afraid I've just pissed off the boss. But what was I supposed to do, bring him in on it and have him changing everything I do and turn it into some tricked up Holiday Inn? No freaking way. This is _my_ thing. I don't even see why he would be interested in this, it's nothing like the offices and junk we do at work."

"Is that what he'd do? Turn it into an average hotel? If that's the case, then he's not very good at his job."

"Well…" I backtracked, "Okay, I may be exaggerating a little. He would probably do an incredible job; he's really good at what he does. But so am I, right? Hello, this is my dream project, am I really supposed to surrender it? And for what? So I can watch someone else alter _our_ home?"

She nodded seriously, "I think you did the right thing. This guy sounds like an ass. Who cares if you pissed him off, he's not going to fire you; you're too good at your job. What you need to do is show him whose boss."

"Rose, he _is_ my boss."

"Well, yeah, but I mean you have to show him that you're not going to take any crap from him."

I almost laughed, "How the hell am I supposed to do that? Refuse to do what he asks? Then he'll have a reason to fire me."

She thought for a minute. "You need a new kick-ass attitude and a kick-ass wardrobe."

I nodded, taking another bite of ziti. "I don't know about the wardrobe, but I think I might be able to fake a kick ass attitude. What do I do, just not take no for an answer?"

"That's a part of it, and you can't _fake_ being kick-ass, Bella, but don't worry, I'll teach you. Here let's practice. I'll be your boss." She put down her fork, cleared her throat and spoke in a voice a couple octaves lower than her normal voice, "Ms. Swan," she said with her eyebrows furrowed, "did you finish those sketch things I gave you yesterday."

I raised an eyebrow at her, trying to keep myself from giggling, "Sketch things?"

She frowned at me, "Work with me here."

"Drafts."

"Fine." She cleared her throat again. "Miss Swan, did you finish those drafts I gave you yesterday."

I nodded, "Yes, Mr. Cullen."

Rosalie's shoulders slumped, "That was terrible," she said with a flat voice. "You're not supposed to take no for an answer."

"But I couldn't say no, you asked me a question. I always have stuff done when he asks for it; otherwise he very well _could_ fire me. And he doesn't call me 'Miss Swan'; he calls me 'Isabella'."

"Why? Is he mad at you?"

"Can we just get on with this?!"

"Whatever. Okay, let's try this again." Once again, she cleared her throat and turned her voice into what she imagines Edward Cullen to sound like. "Isabella, I need those drafts I gave you yesterday."

"I put them on your desk an hour ago, and that's Miss Swan to you, you jerk!"

She grinned, "Better."

We both glanced at each other and burst out laughing. "This is ridiculous! He's my boss; I'm not going to yell at him." We finished dinner and I cleared the dishes. "Besides, he's not mean, really, its just that he has an annoying habit of thinking everyone in the office is incompetent. Everyone buys into it, too. You should see how people act around him. They all walk on eggshells around him, that is, if they're not throwing themselves at him."

"Is he good looking?"

I shrugged, "I guess." Any appeal that Edward Cullen's physical appearance had was clouded to me by his intimidating work persona. Plus the fact that he couldn't trust me or anyone else to draw out a freaking room without triple scanning it for fatal errors didn't help either.

After we got everything cleaned up, we settled in the living room to watch Grey's Anatomy. During the first commercial break, Rosalie spoke up. "You know, you should reconsider the whole being-more-assertive thing if you want to get ahead. You could be like Meredith; she gets stuff done. Look she just started a brain surgery clinical research thing."

"Yeah, but she also sleeps around. And I'm still not going to yell at people."

"I never said you had to do either, although it wouldn't hurt." She shot me a playful grin, "You said he was attractive, right?"

"Oh ha ha," I said with a roll of my eyes, "And, by the way, do _you_ yell at people?"

"I'm the boss." She said with a shrug. I don't believe it: my sister is a hell-boss. Rose, apparently, was reading my face and added to her last statement. "Oh relax; I don't usually need to yell. I just make sure things get done…" I continued to stare at her in disbelief, "As _nicely_ as I can, are you happy now?"

I rolled my eyes, "I'm glad I don't work for you. And anyway, when did my options become sleeping around and yelling at people? What about a good work ethic and positive thinking?"

"Ew." She said with a grimace, "Well I guess if you want to do things the hard way that's your business."

--

* * *

--

The next morning as I walked into work I was already mentally cursing Rosalie for making me wear these damn shoes. Next time, I'll find my own way to get taken seriously at work, a way that doesn't require four inch heels.

"Hey Bella," Angela called as I put my bag on my side of our work space. "You look cute."

I smiled at her, "Thanks. I let my sister pick out the outfit today." And what a mistake that turned out to be. I had Rose's ivory Armani button down shirt with a subtle embroidery on the back over my own back slacks and hideously high and pointy shoes that I didn't even know were in my closet. My hair was up in a sleek bun, I was actually wearing mascara, and I had a pretty mint green scarf around my neck. "I think she went a little overboard."

Angela disagreed, "No way, you look great! And just in time too, there's another preliminary meeting around noon. The memo said something about a new dorm building at the Seattle University campus. I think Cullen is handing out assignments for it."

I started up my laptop and sure enough there was a memo from the office about the meeting in my inbox. "I hope I get something more interesting than the rest rooms this time. Do you know who else is working on this?"

Angela chuckled, "I think it's just you, me and Tyler." Tyler was the third person that shared our workspace with us. The three of us usually worked on projects together, but his sexist jokes and constant sucking up to the bosses was enough to make us want to kill him at times.

"Which of the Cullen brothers is heading this up?" I don't know why I even asked, I knew it would be Edward. We hardly ever worked with Emmett.

"Edward Cullen already has things being set up in his office for the meeting."

I silenced a groan. "Of course."

The rest of the morning went by without much incident and I was deeply engrossed in my work by the time Edward Cullen's private secretary's voice came through the intercom on the phone that it startled me as I was taking a sip out of my coffee and I ended up burning my tongue and spilling a bit on Rosalie's shirt. "Mr. Cullen is ready for you now. Please meet him in his office."

Tyler reached over and hit the intercom button on the phone, "Thank you, Stephanie, we'll be right there." He promptly began gathering notes and such into an official looking folder and muttering things to himself.

I had to fight not to roll my eyes as I tried to wipe the coffee off me. "I thought this was a new project, Tyler. You have notes already?"

Tyler fixed me with a pompous smirk, "Just a few ideas I've been working on. I think Mr. Cullen will appreciate my preparations for the project." He looked me up and down, like he was sizing up a new car for a test drive. "You know, Bella, you're a really good architect, but you're missing a few ideals that could really take you to the next level. I wouldn't mind showing you a few things… over dinner sometime."

I almost gagged. Angela and I exchanged glances and it looked like she was trying hard not to laugh. "Um, thanks for the offer Tyler, but I'm good." What an idiot. Besides, I didn't have the heart to tell him that whatever ideas he thought were good, Edward Cullen would dismiss immediately and use his own, so instead I turned to Angela. "Can you tell him I'll be right there? I need to try to get this coffee stain out of Rosalie's shirt before it sets or she'll have my head."

"Sure thing," she replied as she and Tyler took off for Edward's office. I turned and headed towards the bathroom. As I passed Stephanie's desk, I noticed a tired looking girl in jeans, a small jacket despite the frigid snowy weather outside and a black leather messenger bag slung over her shoulder standing there arguing with Stephanie. The girl looked to be about my age, maybe a little younger, with short black hair, wide pale green eyes and a pixie-like face that reminded me of someone. Did I know her? She was shivering and tapping her bright green pumps on the ground as she fought to control her temper while talking to the secretary. Now that I think of it, maybe she was just shivering from the cold. Her face had that bright red twinge you get from walking around in the cold for a long time. Stephanie was looking at the girl like she was crazy and was threatening to call security. As I got closer I caught bits of the conversation.

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Cullen is in a meeting right now and I don't know when he will be out. You'll have to make an appointment." Stephanie was saying in her snootiest voice.

"He's my _brother_. I don't need to make an appointment to see my own brother! If you would just tell him I'm here, I'm sure he'll come out and tell you himself." Ah, so _that's_ who she reminded me of. Now that I thought about it, I could definitely see the family resemblance.

Stephanie shook her head. "I'm sorry. If you can't show me identification to prove who you are, then I can't pull him out of a meeting."

"I already told you, my purse was stolen! Look, just get either Edward or Emmett out here before I kick your sorry—,"

"Hold on!" I interjected before the Stephanie had the security guards toss this poor girl out on the street. I quickly went over to the two women who were staring daggers at each other. "What's going on?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes and turned to look at me, "Nothing, Ms. Swan," She answered coolly, "This… _lunatic_ here is requesting to see Mr. Cullen." I saw the girl's nostrils flare angrily, "Just another admirer, I'm sure. I'm about to call security. She's obviously deranged."

"Why you little—,"

I cut her off before she said something she was going to regret. "Whoa! Okay, hold on a second. Stephanie, hold on, don't call security, I'll take care of it." I turned to the girl, "I'm about to go into a meeting with Edward Cullen. I can relay the message."

The girl sighed in relief, "Thank you." She looked completely tired and stressed out. When she spoke she set off on a very fast explanation of her situation. "I'm Alice Cullen, and I had my purse stolen today in this stupid, freezing, rainy city. I don't have my cell phone and all my brother's cell and office numbers were programmed in there so I couldn't call because I don't have them memorized. Anyway, I'm not from around here and it took me forever to find this place and now that I get here this _bimbo_," she said loudly and pointedly at Stephanie, "won't let me see either of my brothers… " She stopped to take a breath.

"Oh wow." I pulled her away from the reception desk before Stephanie had a chance to respond to being called a bimbo. "Okay, come on." I led her down the hall to my workspace area and sat her down at my desk. "Here, let me get you some water. Or do you want coffee?"

She shook her head. "No, neither, I'm fine, thank you." I nodded, ushering her into my office chair and leaning back against the desk while she composed herself. "Thanks so much. I'm sorry, I know you're probably really busy and all…" Her voice was getting thicker and she looked to be on the verge of tears. "It's just been such a nightmare since I arrived. I've only been to Seattle once before and I don't know my way around and as soon as I get here I get mugged and I didn't realize how cold it would be so I packed my winter coat into my suitcase but my luggage was lost on the plane." She gave a involuntary sob, "And I didn't have anything but my carry-on and a stupid jacket," another sob, "and I didn't have money for a cab so I walked aimlessly around the city trying to find this place 'cause I knew Em and Edward would be here. I could've gone to Edward's apartment I guess, but he's obsessed with work and he's never home and Emmett has the housekeeping skills of a college frat boy on Ritalin…" A couple of large tears escaped her eyes and made their way down her frozen cheeks.

I bit my lip while listening to her exasperated story, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry." I quickly went to the coat rack in the corner of the office I shared with my two colleagues, grabbed my own teal coat and threw it around her shoulders. "Here take this, you're practically frozen solid. I can't believe you walked like that outside and haven't gone hypothermic yet. Are you sure you don't want coffee or maybe tea?" I asked as I held out the box of tissues that was on my desk.

She bit her trembling lip and accepted a tissue. "Would I be a real pain if I asked for tea?" She asked in a meek voice.

"Not at all," I stood up from where I was crouched in front of her and buzzed the intercom button on the phone. "Stephanie, could you to get me a mug of hot water?"

A second later came Stephanie's voice. "Fine."

"God, she's such a cow." Alice said, staring at the phone. "I can't believe Edward hired her as his private secretary."

I shrugged, "I think Emmett might have been the one to actually hire her. I remember Edward was too busy to do the interviews when his last one left. She only started here about a month ago."

Alice gave an eye roll as she spoke, "Of course." There was a slight edge to her voice, and an expression that reminded me of my own when I worried about my sister and her work habits.

It was strange to think of Edward Cullen in that way; as part of a family, as the workaholic older brother that his little sister worried about. And for a split second my mind wandered to Rose… did the people who worked under her think of her as the same scary, obsessive boss as I consider Edward Cullen? God, I hope not. "I'm Bella, by the way." I held out my hand. Whoever this girl was, member of the scary Cullen clan or not, our similar predicaments forged some kind of bond and I felt compelled to help her.

She smiled brightly, the action illuminating her entire face despite the tear stains, and shook my outstretched hand. "Alice." Her gaze fell to the top of my shirt. "I don't know if you know this, but you've got a coffee stain on your collar."

I instinctively reached up to it, "I know, I was on my way to the bathroom to take care of it when I ran into you. It's my sister's and she's going to kill me."

"Don't worry, any good cleaner can get that out before she even realizes its missing," she assured me, "You know, I always wondered what it would be like to have a sister to steal clothes from. I have two older brothers and the whole clothes-swapping thing doesn't work. Although Emmett did steal my bra once and used it as a slingshot to shoot rocks at the next door neighbor's cat but it's not the same thing."

I chuckled. "Whoa, it's weird to think of Emmett Cullen as a kid."

She snorted, "Kid? Please, he was 23!"

I laughed out loud as I heard the clickety-clack of Stephanie's heels approaching. She gave Alice and me a cold glare, set down the mug of hot water and clacked her way back to her desk. I opened the bottom drawer of my desk where I kept some snacks and such and pulled out a tea bag. "Is chai okay?"

She nodded, "Perfect, thank you. Hey, what did she mean before about Edward having crazy admirers? Does he have a girlfriend that comes by?" She looked almost hopeful.

I ripped open the tea bag and dropped it into the mug, "Not really girlfriends, I don't think. But you should see how the girls around here act around him. It's hard to concentrate on work when these girls are always clacking back and forth in front of his office. And I don't know about crazy people coming in from the streets, I only know the ones from the building."

Alice laughed, "Clacking?"

I nodded, "Yep. Their heels. They clack."

"I see." She shook her head, "Edward's always attracted a lot of unwanted attention, I suppose." Then she looked up at me curiously, "Why isn't he into any of them? You work with him, right? Does he entertain any of them?"

I didn't blame Alice for this; maybe a girl would make Edward less intimidating. Maybe he'd go home once in a while and let other people do their own work. I wouldn't mind if Rosalie had someone, maybe she'd be less obsessed with work then. "I'm afraid I don't really know him that well."

"Is he nice to people?"

I shrugged, "He's fine, I suppose. Very polite." I fought to find ways of describing Edward Cullen that didn't include scary, annoying or compulsive, "he's very professional and…," What else? This is his sister and she's worried about him, I've got to give her _something_, "… he pays incredible attention to details. He's very good at his job." I said truthfully. There.

But Alice didn't seem to be buying it. "Uh huh." She sighed. "So he's scary, hell boss, huh?"

"Oh no, no, he's not mean or anything. Just kind of … intimidating," I admitted. I grimaced apologetically at her, "Sorry, I'm totally painting a bad picture here. I don't really know him that well, so I'm not the right person to ask, I'm…" my eyes caught a glimpse of the OS X clock on my computer screen, "I'm late! Yikes! I completely forgot about my meeting, oh crap, Cullen is going to stick me with some crappy assignment, or worse…"

Alice's eyes got wide, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I'll explain everything to Edward, don't worry." She got up from my desk chair. "He won't get mad at you." I wasn't too sure about that.

"It's not your fault; I should've been paying more attention. Don't worry about it, just stay here and try to unwind while I try and catch up at the meeting. I'll let him know you're here when it's over." My stomach was in knots as I thought about walking into the meeting now but smiled at her anyway and made my way to Edward's office.

His office was very nice and adequately sized, not as large as his brothers whom I had visited a couple times before, but spacious enough for all the things he had in there without feeling the least bit cramped. It housed his large desk, his own drafting table, some bookshelves, a credenza, a white board for posting up drawings an analyzing them, two comfy arm chairs in the corner and a medium sized round table with four chairs. Unlike some of the other senior architect offices, Edward's was comfortable, which made sense considering how much time he spent in there.

Too bad Edward wasn't always like that.

He was behind standing his desk, crouched over some paper work and was in the middle of speaking to Angela and Tyler who were seated in two of the four chairs at the round table. "… as you can see, the space we have is small. Its only going to be about seven stories high." He hadn't noticed me standing in the door yet, so I walked right in and took a seat by Angela. He stopped what he was explaining and looked at me.

"Sorry I'm late, Mr. Cullen."

His gaze and his voice stayed smooth and expressionless, but I could tell he was annoyed. "Isabella, I'm about to hand out assignments. You've missed most of the meeting and your colleagues have already made their preferences on what they'd like to work on—,"

"I know, I'm sorry, I-I lost track of time," I stammered. _So much for being kick-ass,_ I thought as I took a seat. "It won't happen again."

Edward let out a barely audible sigh. "Alright, well, I'm sure your colleagues will fill you in when this is over." He turned, facing away from us and beginning his description again, but I could've sworn I saw him roll his eyes before he turned away. "As I was saying, we only have the authority to make it about 7 stories high and on the seventh floor I'd like to see—,"

There was a knock and we all turned to see Alice, who was suddenly standing in Edward's office doorway. She looked a little more put together than she was earlier but not by much. She still had my black pea coat draped over her shoulders and the mug of hot tea in her hand. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Edward, it was my fault Bella was late. I was battling with your stupid secretary and she totally saved me. God, that woman is annoying," she added with an impatient roll of her eyes.

Edward looked completely shocked. "Alice?" He walked out from behind his desk and up towards her.

Alice walked into the office and launched into her mile-a-minute explanation, "I was mugged—,"

"Mugged?!" Edward's eyes widened.

"Yeah" Alice continued, "and your idiot secretary wouldn't let me in here without identification and Bella happened to be walking by and she's late because she was being super nice and helpful and taking care of me and I made her lose track of time, and if you punish her for it, I swear I'll tell mom what a crazy jerk you've be—,"

"Whoa." Edward said to her, stopping her mid-sentence. As he turned to the rest of us, his perfect poker face was back, though I thought I saw a bit of tension in his jaw again. "I'm going to have to end this meeting early. You have the details with you so you can begin. Angela, you can work on the top floor as you requested. There are some notes I have on what I'd like to see go into the space, which I'll email you later on today." Angela nodded, giving him a polite smile. He turned to Tyler, "Tyler, I'd like you to tackle the residential floors. I'll also email you as to what must go into each suite and floor. You can go now." _Great_, I thought, getting up. What do I get to do, more bathrooms? That's if I'm even on this project at all. He wouldn't fire me, would he? I mean, he could use this as an excuse if he's still mad about yesterday. What if he tried to blackmail me for the hotel project? No, he wouldn't do that, would he? I got up and began to followed Tyler and Angela out of the office, thinking of how I would literally kick him if he tried to get his hands on the Whitlock Grand renovation, or maybe I'll just fix _him_ with an intimidating glare, see how _he_ likes it— "Isabella?" I almost jumped at the sound of my name.

I put my unease aside and tried to sound as confident as I could. Rosalie's first rule to being a take-charge woman was to not show fear. So no fear... _no_ fear. "Yes, Mr. Cullen?"

"I haven't given you an assignment yet."

_Well, duh._ "I know. I figured I'd get whatever was left or I was out of the loop on the project altogether… since I was _inexcusably_ late and all." I said a little pointedly, "I'm sure you want time to talk to your sister." I couldn't read his expression. God he looks so serious. Was that another tick in his jaw? Come on, man, just put me out of my misery already! "I'll leave you two to your business." I said politely and turned to leave.

Alice spoke up before Edward had a chance to, "Come on, Edward, don't be a douche. It was my fault, not hers. You're so uptight." She put the mug of tea down on Edward's desk and took my coat off, "Thanks for lending it to me. I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble."

I shook my head. "Are you kidding, you lost your luggage and its twenty degrees out! I have another one at home. Keep that one until you get one of your own."

Edward interjected, "You lost your luggage?" As he asked Alice, his face settled into an expression I'd never seen on him before. There was no superiority, no professional politeness, just plain shock. "You walked through Seattle in this weather in what? A sweater?"

"Well _I_ didn't lose my luggage, the airline did. My coat was in there." She smiled at me, "Thanks a lot Bella. I'll give it back to you as soon as I can. I'll go shopping tomorrow."

"Take your time. Won't it take a while to get new credit cards and such anyway?"

Her eyes widened in realization. "Damn! I hate this stupid city!"

I chuckled, "Don't worry about it. If you need anything, my sister and I have a ton of stuff you can borrow in the mean time. And the city's not so bad once you get used to it." Edward cleared his throat, reminding us that he was in the room. "Oh, sorry, Mr. Cullen."

He gave me a curt nod and turned to Alice. "Alice, sit down, you look like you're about to fall over." And she really did look exhausted. But then again, who wouldn't after having a day like she'd had?

"I'm fine now," she assured him, but she sat down anyway in one of the comfortable armchairs in his office.

He turned back to me; his voice was softer than I'd ever heard it, so much so that it almost threw me. "Thank you for helping out my sister. I apologize for not giving you an opportunity to voice your preference on assignments." He did sound sorry.

I shrugged, not being able to look at him in the eyes. "It's alright," I fought to keep a polite smile, "you couldn't have known." _But you could've asked!_ I wanted to add.

"Well, I'll give you the cliff notes version of our meeting." He went around behind his desk and gestured for me to sit down. "Please, make yourself comfortable." I took a seat on one of the chairs in front of his desk, but I was anything but comfortable. "Seattle University has hired our firm to design a new dormitory for them. They want it to be honors dorms for exemplary students and they want it done right away, so it can be up by next fall when the new school year begins." He handed me a black folder, similar to the one Angela and Tyler both had with them. I looked inside and saw the details of the projects. "Did you have some preference as to an assignment?" Surveying the proposal and the preliminary plan, I immediately wanted to tackle the residential floors, but that job had already gone to Tyler. Damn.

"Well, I think it's a bit late for that. Don't worry about it, though, I'm fine with whatever's left… as long as it isn't just public bathrooms again."

He grinned sheepishly. "Oh, I guess you didn't like your part on that particular project?"

I gave him a comical shrug, not quite managing a smile, "It doesn't take a genius to put stalls and sinks into a small room."

His eyes lit up with amusement again, "As I recall, those bathrooms made it into _Seattle Design_ magazine, so I'm guessing some creative genius took part anyway."

And I felt my eyes go wide and my face turn red. I hadn't heard about that. In the moment of silence that followed I thought I saw a small, amused grin playing at his lips.

"Which reminds me," His silky voice cut into my thoughts. I looked up at him and he handed me another set of plans "I'd like you to take a look at these."

I reached out and accepted what he was handing me; the plans for what looked like a lobby. On further inspection, I realized it was a final draft of the lobby I'd given to him yesterday and all the changes I made were still there, slightly altered here and there, but still represented. "This is the Johnston high-rise lobby."

"Yes. I further investigated your ideas and decided to go with them. What do you think?"

I was a little lost. "I'm… freaking shocked." _Woops_. Edward laughed as my face turned red. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I think it looks great." I handed the plans back to him.

"Pleasantly surprised?"

"Yes. This is the first time you haven't changed something I worked on." He frowned slightly and I quickly added, "No offense." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Alice looking attentively back and forth to each of us, taking in the conversation with a curious expression.

"None taken," He said with a tight smile. There was a small awkward pause and then he spoke again, "Now, about the Seattle U dorm." He sat down on his executive chair. "You probably wanted to work on the residential floors, I'm guessing?"

I forced a polite smile. "Kind of."

"I'm sorry about that." For the first time ever, he looked sincere in his apology. I'd gotten accustomed to Edward Cullen's usual lack of emotion, so it threw me. "Please, give me a moment to think…" I nodded and he remained quiet for a couple of minutes, looking over the papers in front of him, a slight frown fixed on his face.

I stayed quiet for a while and just when I was about to tell him not to worry, he can make it up to me on the next project, Alice spoke. "Let's give Edward a moment to think how he can make up for being a bad boss." She shot Edward an annoyed look, which he mirrored with his own. She patted the armchair next to her with her hand, indicating for me to go sit with her. I glanced unsure at Edward. He shrugged and went back to his papers. "How long have you been working here?" she asked me as I settled in beside her.

"A little over five months," I responded, slightly uncomfortable. Alice was cool and under normal circumstances I would love to sit around and chat with her, but it was weird having a normal conversation with my boss sitting a few feet away. "I came in right after graduate school."

Alice didn't acknowledge my discomfort, "That's amazing! Em told me once that this place was pretty competitive, but couldn't tell if he was bragging. Is it true?"

I smiled, "I think so. I got a lot of experience throughout school, but to be honest, I can't believe it either," I admitted to her in lower tones.

She giggled, "You sound like Edward. He was on the hard-working fast track once he entered grad school too. Not so much during his undergrad years, but I'll tell you about that some other time." Edward seemed to be ignoring his sister, "I don't know how you guys do it."

"Are you still in school?" I asked her.

She nodded, "Graduate school now."

"Very cool. What are you studying?"

"Fashion Design and Merchandising. I got a bachelor's in Fashion Design but I like manipulating and marketing art more than I like creating it. So I just went straight to Philadelphia after college and continued school there."

My eyes lit up, "Seriously? I did my graduate work there too!"

Alice's eyes widened in shock. "No way! I've fallen in love with the city."

I nodded, "I miss it sometimes. You know what I miss the most? That used bookstore on Spruce Street? Have you ever been?"

Alice nodded, "Yea, the one where the owner lets his cats roam around? I've been there a few times. The store is undergoing renovations now, I think. Have you ever been to that Naked Chocolate Café on Walnut?"

I grinned, "Their hot chocolate is amazing."

Alice sighed sadly, "What I would give for a cup right now." I laughed. "So did you study a specific area of architecture in school?"

I nodded, forgetting where I was and relaxing into the armchair. "Classical. I studied it abroad for a few semesters, but it's been my interest since I can remember."

"Whoa." She said, her eyes cutting to her brother, "Edward wasn't that your specialty too?"

Edward nodded, turning his head towards us. "Yes." His eyes met mine, and I realized I was almost lounging on the armchair, so I sat up, remembering where I was. "I think I may have a solution for the current project. Perhaps—," he paused. "Well, perhaps you'd like to take charge of the project?"

I almost fell out of my chair.

_What_? Edward looked slightly uncomfortable, like he was wandering in unfamiliar territory. "Of course, I'd have the final say on everything, but maybe we could… work together…? On this, in a dual leadership… Would you be comfortable with that?"

I was stunned. I think I was even staring at him.

"Isabella?"

My eyes snapped back into focus and suddenly I was on my feet again. "Yes!" _Woops, too excited._ "I mean, yeah… that'd be cool. I mean fine… That'd be fine." I smiled a real, non-forced smile at Edward Cullen for the first time ever. Maybe Rosalie was right about the take-charge outfit. Even with a coffee stain on it, it _had_ kind of worked.

And then he smiled, and I immediately forgot about the shirt. In fact, I stopped thinking about anything at all. A slow, crooked smile lit up his face and my mind went blank. He was beautiful. I'd never seen him smile like that. I don't think I'd ever seen him really smile at all. "Great." He said. And, for once, he sounded like he meant it. I forced my eyes away from the beauty of his face because, honestly, it was best not to think of him in that way. "Alright then, Isabella, I'll send—,"

"It's Bella." Alice cut in. "Honestly, Edward, she's been working here for almost six months, can't you get her name right?"

Edward's eyes narrowed toward his younger sister. "Alice, why don't you go see Emmett? He should be in his office."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. I can take a hint." She got up to leave. "Bella, thanks for everything. I hope to see you again soon!"

"You too, Alice." I smiled at her, "Call me if you need anything." She gave me a hug and left.

Edward made an impatient noise as she left. "I apologize for my sister," he said to me.

"Oh, it was no trouble, she's great! I felt terrible for her, Stephanie was giving her such a hard tim—," I stopped myself, not wanting to be the bitch who bad mouthed people to their bosses, even if she does deserve it. I was immediately ashamed of myself and felt my face flush. "Sorry. What I meant was she seemed like she needed a hand."

He nodded, relaxing into his chair, "I had no idea she was even coming into town." He admitted, resting his head back. "Mugged!" He said with an exasperated sigh, "She was _mugged!_" He shook his head. "Leave it to Alice to get into trouble the minute she arrives."

"If you think about it, it's pretty impressive that she managed to get out of the situation unharmed and got herself to safety in a strange city." I said.

He was quiet for a moment, "I suppose that's one way of looking at it."

"Besides, it seems to me like she worries about _you_ a lot, so I think you can call it even on the whole anxiety thing."

Apparently that wasn't what he was expecting. "She told you that?"

"I recognized the my-older-sibling-is-a-workaholic expression. You and my sister are both obsessed with work." No need to tell him Rosalie was nowhere near as bad as he was (or maybe she was, who knew?). I looked up at his face, a little scared that I might have said too much. "No offense," I tacked on at the end.

He seemed to understand and to my surprise, he smiled again. "You're not the first person to tell me that." I smiled, more relieved that he wasn't mad than anything else. "I guess you're right." He grinned… another beautiful grin. Jeez, no wonder girls here are obsessed with him. "Thanks Isab—, I mean, Bella, is it?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yep."

"That's pretty." I felt my face turn red at his comment, and his smile grew larger. "You don't like, Isabella?"

I shook my head, "Not really, no."

"Does everyone around here call you Bella?"

"Pretty much."

"Damn. Shows how much I pay attention."

I laughed. "It's okay. You're busy. I get that."

"It's no excuse."

"Oh well. You just gave me a leading position on the new project, so I'm thinking that makes us even."

He laughed; the sound was lovely, "Not even yet. But I'm happy that you're pleased about the assignment. It'll be interesting working together on this, I think." His smile was intoxicating.

Now if I could just stop blushing…

--

* * *

**Thanks for being patient. I finally got to write Alice into it! Gotta love her. **


End file.
